Decide what you are trying to accomplish by burning this sage. The practice of burning sage is ancient, rich, and steeped in cultural tradition.

The power of intent is integral here. If you burn sage with the intention to cleanse your home of negative energy, then it is incredibly more likely to do so. Any effect of the plant must be rooted in your mind.

Perhaps you want to cleanse your home of negative energy. Perhaps you wish to interact with an ancient herbal tradition and rekindle the ancient rites. Perhaps you simply want to burn incense and spruce up your home with a pleasing scent.

Many of the benefits are spiritual and psychological--but there is a physical component.

On a spiritual level: Many people use sage burning and smudging to connect with ancestral tradition. It is a common belief that the strong scent of sage can purge the negative energy from a room, a home, and a heart.

On a psychological level: The act of burning sage can mark a beginning, a resolution, a turning-over of a new leaf. When you accept the time-honoured ritual and put your faith in the power of burnt sage, you can purge yourself of negativity and find true peace of mind.

On a physical level: Sage releases negative ions into the air when it is burned, and research suggests that exposure to negative ions may correlate to lower rates of depression. The strength of this correlation is still unclear, but know that sage at least has not been shown to have any negative effect.

Lay out a ceramic dish, a bowl, an incense tray, a shell, or any other vessel that will catch the ash. Fill the vessel with clean sand or rich earth.

Choose a vessel that holds significance to you. This can be nearly anything: your favourite coffee mug, a piece of your grandmother's china, an ivory bowl from your journey to India; any personal relic that will make the ceremony more meaningful to you.

Some Native American tribes have traditionally burned sage in cleaned-out abalone shells, which represent the element of water.

Avoid using wood, paper, rubber, or anything flammable. Keep water on hand so that you can extinguish the burning sage if the flame grows out of hand. Hold the stick downward at a 45-degree angle.

This will give the sage smoke--along with any negative energy--a way to leave your home.

Open a window or a door in any room where you plan to burn sage. You want the smoke to cleanse, but you do not want it to linger.

Consider turning on a fan if you want the smoke to dissipate more quickly. You may not like the pungent smell, or the smoke may irritate your sinuses.

Use a candle, a match, or a lighter to set the sage ablaze. Let the sage burn for a few seconds, and then blow out the fire; let the embers smoke.

Dry sage will catch fire very quickly. Be careful.

Make sure that the sage has burned enough that the embers will continue to smoke. If the smoke ceases before you are done with your ritual, you can carefully light the sage again.

You are ready to spread the smoke.

Consider saying a prayer of cleansing. Burning sage is the spiritual equivalent of opening up all of your windows and letting light shine into the soul; dedicate your act to this light.

For example, say: "I cleanse this room of any impurities, negativity, or anything that does not suit or support the people that live here."

If you are preparing a room for a new-born child, say: "I purge this room of all ghosts and darkness. I dedicate this room to life, and to love, and to light, and to all that is good."

Walk around each room wafting smoke into every corner; let smoke trace the walls, the windows, and the ceiling; let smoke curl and coil and roll back upon itself within the space. Imagine negative energy flowing away from the edges of the smoke; out of your home; out of your life.

Concentrate on gateway areas: windows, doors, closets, hallways. Use your intuition. If you pay close attention to your space, you may notice that some areas are more in need of cleansing than others.

Consider focusing on busy areas--work spaces, kitchens, entryways. If you have a pet, consider sage-ing their space, but do not disturb them with the smoke.

Pungent sage is known for its yang (male) aspect, and incense may lend a complementary yin (female) energy.

Experiment with-bell ringing and hand-clapping in between burning sage and lighting incense; this may potentiate the spiritual cleansing effect.